Proxy Moron
by Shuiro Ecstacy
Summary: When Casey's relationship with Max takes a turn for the worst, just how soft is Derek willing to go to help Casey recover from a shattered heart?
1. PM: Chapter 1

_A/N_: This is my first Life With Derek fanfiction. I love the show, but I never once thought of writing a fic for it. I don't know how far I'm going with this, but the sweetness will be there, I promise. I tried keeping them as in-character as I could.

Let me know how I did. :)

* * *

"I _hate_ him!"

"Here we go…"

Derek, without taking his eyes off the television screen, picked up the remote that lay on the chair's armrest and repeatedly tapped the blue up-arrow on the volume side.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a light purple jacket being thrown at the coat rack – and falling to the floor, missing the rack by at least a foot – and a very angry fifteen-year-old girl whirling around the last wooden bar of the stair banister and making more noise than the hockey game in front of him as she traveled up the stairs.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Edwin!"

His younger brother appeared in a heartbeat, obviously used to hearing his name being called like a palace servant.

"Yeah?"

"Do me a favor and go get the phone, will you?"

"Why? Date plans with Sally?"

"You know the battle's been on for at least a week now, so what makes you think I want to talk to her? Don't answer that. Anyway, I don't need the phone for me."

"Then who's it for?"

Derek slouched a bit more comfortably in his chair, allowing his eyes to be re-glued to the screen once again. "Max is bound to call any minute now."

* * *

And yet he never did.

Casey lay on her stomach on her bed, her arms crossed around a pillow in front of her. It was moist from all the tears that fell from her chin. _Never… he had never… there should have been a sign… it's probably my fault… why didn't I catch it?_

Somewhere, way beyond her current thoughts, she knew she was over reacting. But these thoughts were dominant and powerful, much more so than the thoughts of reality Casey knew she should be listening to. Dominant thoughts or not, they were interrupted when she heard a soft knock on her door.

"Come in," she choked.

The door opened so the space between the door and the doorway was only an inch or so wide. After a couple seconds, it opened a bit wider, and Lizzie stuck her head in the room.

"Hey Case. Are you okay? I could hear you crying from my room. Did something happen with Max?"

Casey was afraid of speaking again without a fresh batch of tears forming – she'd just "calmed down" after all – so she only nodded her head. Lizzie, always the sympathetic sister, sat on the bed next to Casey and put her hand on the distressed girl's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Casey. It's okay. Max is a jerk anyway. Whatever happened, he isn't worth it." Lizzie leaned forward and tried to give the best smile she could. It usually worked and cheered her older sister up at least a little, but Casey only closed her eyes, and Lizzie saw more tears flow from the shut lids. This was bad… Casey never got this upset about a relationship.

"Casey…?"

"Liz, if I tell you what happened, would you promise you won't tell anyone? Not even mom or George? I don't want them stressing out over me. I couldn't handle that."

"Sure, Casey. You know you can trust me."

"Thanks…"

* * *

"Oh, hey Lizard. Do you think you could grab me the chips and cheese dip in the kitchen? Thanks."

"No, I will not grab you your stupid junk food. I've got bigger problems."

"Older sister problems?"

"What do you care?"

"Well, I haven't spread any gossip around lately. What's the deal with Casey and Max? Another pointless fight?"

"It was way more than that Derek, and don't bother me about it. I've been sworn to secrecy."

"Really, now… sounds juicy. The guys would love to hear how Casey tortured Max this time."

"Derek, I don't think you get it. It's really serious, and Casey's hurt. More than you know, actually. So stop being so obnoxious and show some consideration."

"Sure thing. I'll pay attention to the salsa dip, too. Grab me that along with my chips and cheese okay?"

"Get it yourself!"

"Not happening."

"Derek!"

"What? Why should I care about the on-off relationship of my annoying step-sister and the person I hate more than anyone else in the world?"

"Because your _sister_ was deeply hurt by that _jerk_!"

Derek raised an eyebrow and slightly turned his head in Lizzie's direction without looking away from the second half of the game. There was something about her tone that tugged at his mind and tightened a knot in his guts. Something told him there was more in their millionth break up than another argument.

"Lizzie… what happened?"

"I told you, I've been sworn to secrecy."

"Well I'm un-swearing you. Tell me. Now."

Lizzie bit her lip. She usually never leaked Casey's secrets or broke in front of Derek, but for some reason he seemed more concerned than interested. _Just this once…_

"Okay…" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "He… he tried… 'Making a move on her'." She hoped Derek would look deeper into Casey's quote… it was pretty general considering how serious the situation actually was. Derek placed his elbow on the chair's arm and rested his fingers on his mouth.

"How serious was this move?"

"Come on Derek, do I have to spell it out for you? They were under the bleachers after his practice… and he… touched her."

She opened her eyes. Derek was not in front of her anymore, and she heard the door shutting to her left. Moments later, she heard a car starting.

_What had she done?_

* * *

Max wasn't worried. There were plenty of girls in the school much dumber than Casey… better looking, too. He was sure he could get another chick to fall for him, what with his charming smile, perfect face, unbelievable talents in sports… the list went on forever.

Holding his precious football to his chest, Max walked down the sidewalk next to the football field. _Not one of my best days…_

He finally reached the door to the backside of the school, and opened it. Two seconds later, he found himself against the wall only a few feet away from the door. His football was wobbling down the hallway, and there was an intense pain in his shoulders and back. Derek Venturi stood in front of him, and was wrinkling the collar of his shirt with a tightly clenched fist.

"Dude, what the hell's your problem?"

"Your disgusting, immature, filthy ways with my sister, that's what."

"She told you, huh?" Max gave a mocking smirk. "Come on Derek, we're basically alike. When we see girls, we go after them, right? I mean, maybe you don't have the thrill that I do in dating, but it's balanced enough."

Derek narrowed his eyes. "You and I are nothing alike, moron. And I don't think you can necessarily call what you do dating. It's gotta be the most revolting thrill I've ever heard of."

Max made an amused sound in his throat. "You're only jealous that I can lure girls in like th –"

An unbelievable pain in the left side of his jaw shut him off. He tasted blood, and the skin on the inside of his cheek stung like crazy. He looked up – his head had been blown to his side and into the wall… he was pretty sure his head was bleeding – to see a hateful gleam in Derek's eyes. Well shit.

"I don't know who you think you are," Derek hissed, "and I don't know why you thought you could do something like that and get away with it, but don't ever let me catch you doing that to Casey – or any other girl for that matter – again." He tightened his grip. "Got it?"

Max coughed a couple times, then glared at Derek, spitting in his face. Derek felt a mixture of mucus and blood enter his eyes and splatter across the skin around them. He ignored it and used the hand that held Max's shirt to shove him to the ground. Hard.

The injured teen leaned up on his side, wiping his mouth. He watched Derek's feet disappear behind the wall outside the doors in front of him.

* * *

"Lizzie, didn't I ask you to leave me alone for awhile?"

"It isn't Lizzie."

Casey groaned and rolled her eyes. She knew that voice, even if he did _sound_ concerned. Before Casey could give another response, Derek came in and closed the door behind him.

"Get out of my room."

"No." Derek grabbed the back of the rolling chair in front of Casey's computer to sit. Casey sighed in exasperation and started to get off her bed and head for the door. Derek quickly reached forward and snatched her wrist.

"You're not going anywhere."

"You can't tell me what to do, Derek."

"Sure I can. Now sit."

Casey didn't have much of a choice; Derek forcefully – yet gently all the same – pulled her back so she came down on the bed. Casey huffed and crossed her arms, looking away from Derek immediately. Derek took his place in Casey's chair and leaned over the back of it on his crossed arms. He looked at Casey... really looked at her.

And he noticed a couple of things.

First of all, she'd most definitely been crying. Yes, he'd seen her cry before, but this was a different aftereffect. Her eyes were so red from tears; you'd think she was blind. Secondly, she hadn't made eye contact with him once since he'd stepped into the room.

Derek sighed and rubbed his forehead against his arms in front of him, then looked up again. He'd never been good at this sort of thing – hell, he'd only 'comforted' Kendra once when her grandmother had died – but Casey was different. She liked to over dramatize things… although Derek really couldn't blame her now.

"Listen, Casey, I know why you're upset."

"No you don't. You just think it's another fight with Max." Casey lifted her chin. "Well, it was a lot more than that, so don't act like you know about it."

"I do." Derek thought twice about telling Casey what his true source of information was, and decided against it. "I just talked to Max. The guy's a jerk."

Casey, finally, let her gaze drift to Derek's face. "He… he told you?"

Derek nodded. Casey bit her lip for a second, then turned away again.

"Well, even so, it doesn't mean you care."

"That's not entirely true."

Casey raised an eyebrow but didn't look at Derek again. Derek sighed and shifted a bit in the uncomfortable position he sat in.

"Look, I can't stand guys like that. I know, I've flirted with and dated a lot of girls, and I do talk about them every now and then with Sam. But guys like Max… it just ticks me off, you know? What he did was stupid and disgusting, and girls don't deserve that. Not even you."

Casey felt her lips twitch into a small smile. Derek sat up a bit and let out a deep breath.

"So, are you okay?"

"Well, what Max did will scar me for life; I'll never forget it. But…" Casey tilted her head in Derek's direction and let her smile grow a bit bigger. "I don't think I'm ever going to forget what you just said, either. Thanks, Derek."

Derek couldn't help but force a smile back. Casey, with the smile still on her face, sighed and rolled her eyes, standing up in front of Derek, who looked up at her curiously.

"…So, we're good?"

Casey grinned and shook her head. Derek raised an eyebrow, and Casey laughed.

"What, you didn't think I'd let you leave this room after saying what you said without a loving family hug, did you?"

"_What_?"

"Oh come _on_, Derek. You can't hug your stepsister? Just once?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I don't do hugs."

"You hug Marty all the time."

"That's different. She's like, a decade younger than I am. Besides, she's blood related."

"Please, Derek, that's the lamest excuse to not give a hug I've ever heard."

"Forget it, Casey."

Letting the smile disappear from her face, Casey sighed, crossed her arms, and looked at the ground. Derek groaned. That was the most pitiful look he'd ever seen her give. He _knew_ he'd regret this… she'd probably never let him live down the fact that he'd once in his life been sensitive enough to hug his stepsister.

"Fine," Derek mumbled. Casey's face brightened and she laughed. Derek stood up lazily, rolled the chair behind him and sloppily held out his arms. Casey put her hands on her hips and cocked her eyebrow again. Derek shrugged.

"This is what you get."

Casey rolled her eyes once more and smiled, then took a step forward and hugged Derek's neck. Derek wrapped his arms around Casey's waist, thinking it'd be somewhat of a short hug. But Casey wouldn't budge.

"Uh, Case? You can let go now." He started to remove his arms from her waist. Casey didn't move at all.

"I could."

"_Casey…_"

"What? I've never hugged you before. This is special, Derek."

Derek sighed, not having much of a choice, and put his arms around her waist again. Something in him twitched for a second, and he gave her a gentle squeeze. Both of their eyes widened, but neither of them dared to let go. Neither of them could look at each other… obviously they'd have to wait.

They were both blushing like mad.


	2. PM: Chapter 2

_A/N_: All right! I've updated! Yeah, I was going to make this a oneshot, but I got so many messages for one chapter saying I should continue that I thought, "Why not?" So here we are; the second chapter of (switched name) Proxy Moron.

* * *

"So, how was everyone's day?"

The sound of silverware making contact with seven plates rang through the eerily quiet dining room. George glanced up from his plate, waiting for an answer to his question. Nora did the same. Only Marty looked back.

"I made a Puck out of my playdough!"

Lizzie gave a confused look. "What's a Puck?"

Marty beamed. "It's a half duck, half pig!"

Edwin chewed on his chicken slowly. "That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard. Besides, a Puck isn't even a real animal. Why would you combine two animals? Or two animals' names?"

Derek snickered and leaned over towards Edwin. "Well, at least she didn't arrange the letters so they spelled something else."

Edwin joined Derek's somewhat quiet laughter, spraying his poultry across the table on Lizzie and Casey. Casey's body gave a jolt, but she said nothing. Derek cautiously eyed his stepsister; usually she'd be scolding Edwin, emphasizing some part of his name with that annoying voice of hers.

Nora cleared her throat as she threw a napkin in Edwin's direction. "So, Case, how was the football game today? Who won?"

Derek's eyes darted from Casey's face to Nora, then back to Casey. He casually – and quickly – looked around the space in front of him for a distraction. He glanced up to see Casey still staring at the table, obviously trying to think of some kind of lie to tell her mother. Putting down his fork, he put his hand flat on the table and pushed his finger forward, knocking over his glass and spilling his milk everywhere.

Edwin jumped to his feet to avoid getting it spilled on. Nora groaned and George sighed.

"Derek…"

"Sorry, Dad. I'll clean it up. Edwin, come help me."

"Actually, no, Derek… I'm done. I can help you," Casey said quickly before walking into the kitchen in search of paper towels. Derek followed her without another look at his family. George and Nora exchanged confused glances. Lizzie blinked.

"Did Casey just sa- "

"Uh huh," Nora and George muttered, nodding together with baffled expressions.

* * *

Casey was leaning against the counter in front of the sink when Derek came through the kitchen doorway. He closed the sliding door behind him and sighed.

"You're going to have to be quicker than that if you're not going to tell them what happened."

Casey shrugged. Derek pushed away from the door behind him and walked around the counter. As he began searching for a spare rag to clean up the milk, Casey took her turn in eyeing her stepbrother. Was he being sympathetic, or oddly concerned? Or was he mocking her?

Casey tilted her head and squinted her eyes. "You can drop the nice act, Derek. No one's around, okay?"

Derek didn't look up from the cabinets under the sink. "What makes you think it's an act? I know how you get about these kinds of things, and if you start falling apart because of something stupid, I'll never hear the end of it. Literally. So I'm making sure you keep yourself together. And," he added, a roll of paper towels in his hand, "telling Dad and Nora is not a part of that plan. Got it?"

Casey gave a slight nod and watched Derek walk out of the kitchen. He was right… this wasn't going well so far. Casey probably would have sat there all night thinking of something to say if Derek hadn't distracted everyone.

Sighing, Casey lowered her head. She didn't know what she was going to do. If she told her mom or George about Max, they'd throw a fit. _Mom would probably track Max down herself_, Casey thought with a half-hearted smile.

Tiredly, Casey made her way through the doorway, around the table – while its occupants eyed her silently, and up the stairs.

She had a feeling it would be a long, sleepless night for her.

* * *

"Casey? Casey… wake up."

Casey groaned, rolling over. Lizzie was standing over her bed, holding the house phone in her right hand. Casey blinked, sat up, and took the phone, mouthing 'who is it?'

Lizzie shrugged, sitting on the edge of the lavender comforter. Casey held the phone up to her ear as she looked at her side table; it was 7:12 in the morning. Who would be calling now?

"Hello?"

"Hey, Case."

Casey's eyes widened, and Lizzie noticed. She blinked at her older sister, mouthing in return, 'who is it?'

"Max?"

"Yeah. Who else?"

Lizzie waited impatiently, and Casey nodded. Lizzie's eyes grew as wide as Casey's. She began to whisper now, "Do you want me to tell someone?"

Casey shook her head furiously. "Just let me talk to him alone, okay?" Casey whispered back. Lizzie bit her lip, but quietly left Casey's bedroom. Casey sat up completely now, listening intently to the other line. "Max, why did you call me?" Casey was careful to keep her voice low; she was sure the rest of the family was still asleep.

"What, a guy can't call his girlfriend to say 'good morning'?"

Casey nearly choked. _Girlfriend?_ She stared at the phone, mortified, almost too much so to even speak. Finally, feisty Casey kicked in, and her body tensed like it always did when she was angry.

"Listen here, Max, if you think I'm going to have _anything_ to do with you after yesterday, you'd better think again. And you better believe I will never, ever, _ever_ be your girlfriend again. You and I, us, everything we are or were is _over_! Understand?" Casey mentally kicked herself as she realized she'd raised her voice. Luckily, George or her mom couldn't hear; their room was all the way downstairs past the kitchen.

"Aw, Case, don't be like that…"

"Don't you _dare_ call me that!" Casey knew she should be keeping her voice down, but she found that she couldn't help it. She was infuriated. "And I will very well be like this if I please! You don't deserve anything from me, except _this_!" And with that, Casey pressed the OFF button on the phone… a little too furiously.

Two seconds later, give or take, there was a knock on her door. Unable to think straight, Casey murmured, "Come in," without realizing it. She regretted it when her older stepbrother poked his head past the doorway.

"What's with the wake up call?"

Casey flinched; she knew he meant her yelling, but if only he knew…

She sighed. "Max."

Derek cocked an eyebrow, and when he said nothing, Casey looked up. She rolled her eyes at his confused expression and held up the phone, waving it back and forth. Derek's expression immediately became apprehensive. He cautiously came into her room completely, and to both of their surprise, Casey didn't object. In fact, she felt more relieved than anything… like if Max called back, she wouldn't feel as uncomfortable.

Casey tossed the phone to her side and collapsed back on her bed with a groan. She covered her hands with her eyes and rubbed them.

"What am I going to do?"

Derek sighed and closed his eyes. "Do you want me to talk to him?"

Casey shook her head, her eyes still covered. "You wouldn't do anything. Max wouldn't listen to you, and you'd probably end up physically hurt."

Derek coughed, blinking. Casey raised an eyebrow and lifted her hands to look at him. The look on his face told her something was up, and she sighed heavily through her nose.

"What did you do?"

"You haven't seen him at all since yesterday?"

"No, Derek, you know that."

Derek smirked. "Punched his face in."

Casey's eyes grew wide. "You did _what_? _When_? _Why_?!"

Derek sat on the edge of Casey's bed. "I punched him in the face. Yesterday afternoon – and let me add a fat _duh_ to that. And…" He paused, giving her a look. "I know you're book smart and all, Case, but I thought you'd at least be able to figure out why I did it."

Sitting up, Casey squinted her eyes at her older brother. "You didn't do it because you don't like him… right?"

Derek leaned back on his elbows. "Yeah, actually, that is why I did it. You know I can't stand the guy."

Casey blinked and leaned against the headboard. The expression on her face was confused, of course, and Derek rolled his eyes. She was going to make him say it, and she wasn't even trying. She was making him go soft, damn it.

"Fine, I did it for you, okay?"

Casey's eyes darted to Derek's face. She expected him to be laughing, but she knew that look as well as any of his. He was being totally and completely serious.

And it was freaking her out.

"Derek, are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I explained this yesterday." He turned to her. "Can I leave?"

Casey suddenly took on the appearance of a starved puppy. "No! You can't… what if he calls back?" The look on her face was just as pathetic as the one he'd gotten yesterday, but he refused to break. He shook his head.

"It's not like he's coming at you with a knife. It's just a phone call, Case. No worries."

"Casey!"

Both teens looked at her door. Marty sounded like she was down stairs. Casey froze for a moment, but realized with relief the phone hadn't rang.

But she immediately tensed when she heard her youngest sister yelling, "Your boyfriend is at the door!"

* * *

_A/N_: Okay, so I know Casey and Max's break up in the show has already happened (darn it), and it's very different. And I know Derek's new girlfriend has already come into the picture. Maybe I'll try to fix that, too. Stupid Disney channel. Anyway, this is my version, all right? Just let me know how I did, and maybe even tell me what you would like to see happen in the next chapter or so.


	3. PM: Chapter 3

A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm terribly sorry for not updating since early August, but the mother of all evil dug its way into my mind. Yeah, I'm talking about writer's block. But I'm pretty sure it's fixed... for the time being, that is. I could do with some requests; maybe they'd get me going. Either way, the third chapter is up, so enjoy!

* * *

Casey knew Derek was thinking the same thing she was, and she looked at him in horror. For the first time in who knew how long, he looked back with a tint of concern. She bit her lip.

"Should I go down?"

"I don't think he'll leave before you do."

Casey frowned and dropped the phone, her eyes following it.

"That's what I was afraid of."

* * *

Max sat on the couch, leaning over his knees and looking around at the house he came to so many times before. Marty had left to go upstairs, after having mentioning something about Popsicle sticks.

He heard slow footsteps to his left and stood, pleased that Casey couldn't resist seeing him. More alone time with him was just what she needed; a girl like Casey wouldn't take long to train. She'd grow accustomed to him in no time.

Her eyes didn't meet his, and he frowned at this, but decided not to let it get to him too deeply. What _did_ piss him off, however, was the sixteen-year-old following behind her. He gritted his teeth for a second, then nodded once in Derek's direction.

"Derek."

Derek lifted his chin in greeting. "How's your nose?"

Max's casual gaze suddenly hardened coldly, and he shifted uncomfortably. Casey didn't move much except to stand aside for Derek to come leave the stairs completely. Max tilted his head a little and brought his hands out, palms up, and forced an expectant smile.

"We haven't seen each other for a day, Case. Do I get a hug?"

"No."

Max lifted an eyebrow. He didn't think he'd ever heard Casey speak like that; her voice was firm, there was no quaver in it, her arms were crossed, but she still wouldn't look at him. He sighed and forced a tiny smile, trying keep up what dignity he could pull off in front of the McDonalds and Venturis. He decided to try again.

"Come on, Case… _Derek_ here messed up my nose pretty bad. The least you could –"

"Don't call me that."

"What?"

"Don't call me that. You don't have the right to." Casey finally swept her gaze to lock with the too calm eyes she had feared to look at. "And what you got, you deserved. From both of us."

Derek blinked and turned his head in Casey's direction. "What are you talking about?"

Casey didn't answer immediately, mostly because she felt pretty stupid for throwing a new bit of information out there in front of Derek. She hadn't meant for him to know about it, but there was no avoiding it now.

When he got no answer, Derek looked back at Max, who was now glaring at Casey. It took all of his willpower not to break the jerk's nose off completely, but somehow Derek managed to stay put. As long as he was here, he'd let Casey handle this. It was her problem.

Casey still had no answer, so Max volunteered. "Your _sister_ hit me before you found me yesterday." He paused, narrowing his eyes at Casey. "My nose. You both hit it." Derek's look of disbelief allowed Max to continue, "Honestly, she hits better than you do, Venturi."

For the sake of the tension in the moment, Derek wouldn't comment, but he couldn't hide his smirk. _That's my Casey. Tougher than nails._

Max opened his mouth to say something else, but the three teens' attentions darted to the front door; it was being opened.

"Max!" Nora said with a beaming smile. "We haven't seen you in a while. How've you been?"

Max smiled sweetly. "I've been great, Mrs. McDonald, thanks."

Nora smiled back, but paused soon after. "Oh dear heavens, what happened to your nose?"

Casey and Derek exchanged frantic looks. Max's eyes met each of theirs, then went back to Nora's worried expression.

"Oh, no worries. Just a little rough football practice. That's all."

Nora shook her head, but the smile returned. "Be careful, would you? I'd hate to see such a handsome face get this again."

He flashed a charming smile before she left the room after quietly greeting the other two teens. Casey and Derek watched Max carefully as his attention returned to them.

"Don't worry. It'll be between us," he muttered, heading for the front door. Casey felt a wave of relief; she wanted nothing more than for him to leave. Derek only crossed his arms, standing as close to Casey as he could without breaking either of their comfort zones.

Before opening the door, Max looked over his shoulder. "But don't think I'll take this lightly, Casey. Be careful… that pretty face of yours could be your biggest weakness." He smirked before stepping out the door and closing it behind him.

Without turning, Casey swallowed. "What did that mean?"

Derek shook his head. "I'm not sure, but as strange as it sounds, I would take his advice." Casey looked over her shoulder, not meeting Derek's eyes. "Be careful."

This time, Casey did bring her eyes to Derek's. Her lips parted in surprise; he looked _concerned_. When he looked back at her, she found herself blushing and didn't know why. Awkwardly, she stepped away from him.

"Well… thanks. You know, for staying." She paused. "It helped." She quickly made her way up the stairs. Derek sighed, leaning against the wall.

"No problem."

* * *

Large celebrations were not common in the MacDonald-Venturi household. But as Christmas neared, the middle children of the combined families felt it was time for a change. As always, the scheme was brought up at dinner.

"Mom? George?"

Nora continued chewing her food as George briefly looked up from his.

"What's up, Lizzie?"

Edwin cleared his throat as he always did before giving a presentation. Derek rolled his eyes and began playing basketball with green beans and his empty glass. Nora slapped his hand mid-throw and leaned back in her seat.

"What's this about, you two?"

Lizzie seemed to brighten up a little. "As you know, Christmas is just around the corner."

Edwin nodded as professionally as ever, folding his hands. "And we're getting a little old for toys, guys. So we thought we'd request a single gift this year."

George cocked an eyebrow. "Should I even bother to continue listening to this?"

Nora sighed. "Will it fit in the house?"

Lizzie raised her hands defensively. "Yes, and _yes_," she emphasized in an evident manner. Nora just smirked as Lizzie went on, "Well, it gets pretty boring around here, you know."

Derek grinned sarcastically and George rolled his eyes. "We've noticed."

Edwin nodded again. "So, we were wondering…"

Lizzie beamed. "If we could invite our whole family over for a Christmas party!"

No one spoke, if either out of confusion or pure shock. From George and Nora, both seemed to emit from their moods.

Nora's eyes were somewhat wide, though she calmly placed her fork on the dish in front of her and sat up straight. "Guys, that's a little short notice, don't you think?"

"Not to mention we don't have the money to host our entire family for a holiday get-together," George stated.

Edwin and Lizzie straightened up. "We'll take care of it!"

Giving odd looks, George and Nora stared at their children. "All of it?"

They nodded. Both parents exchanged what all five children believed was telepathic communication. They sighed.

"Deal."

Edwin and Lizzie laughed and slapped high fives. Marty pulled Casey's sleeve down and whispered in her ear, "How will our family fit in Santa's sleigh?"

* * *

"So?"

Casey's eyes darted to her right where she saw Emily peeking around her locker door. After waiting for a second or two, she lifted an eyebrow and returned to collecting her books. "So?"

Emily rolled her eyes and smiled. "So… when's this big party at your house?"

Casey blinked, her right hand on the door Emily hid behind. "It's not a party, it's a family reunion for the holiday." She closed the door and dropped her free arm to her side as the two began to walk. "How did you find out about it anyway?"

Emily placed her hands behind her back and tilted her head in Casey's direction. Her expression gave it away instantly, and Casey sighed.

"_Derek_…"

* * *

He was standing at the bottom of the stairs when Casey came around the next corner. Emily was careful to keep close behind Casey; she knew she had probably just gotten Derek into a heap of trouble.

Casey reached the stairs and tapped on Derek's turned shoulder. When he turned to face her, Casey opened her mouth to speak, but Derek lifted a finger and his eyebrows, telling her not to.

"Before you blow up," Derek said with a growing smirk, "I should tell you that this little reunion has already started."

Casey squinted her eyes and cocked her head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Derek grinned and stepped aside, allowing Vicki – a.k.a. Victoria – to come forward.

* * *

A/N: This was kind of a bits-and-pieces, randomized chapter. A little something here and there. I suppose you (and, frankly, I as well) will have to see where it takes the story.


End file.
